Curse of the Crimson Moon
by Mermaid Marionette
Summary: A horrific legend dating many years back into the Feudal Era of Japan, a tale of a missing village with a terrible curse settled on their souls finds a connection to the present day, to a young girl named Ume Tsukino who can hear the voices of the dead.


『 THE CURSE OF THE CRIMSON MOON 』  
><em>"We'll be together again. We'll be together again soon… Together forever."<em>

CHAPTER ONE : DREAMING INTO THE PAST.

_Beep. Beep. Boop!_

Within the sea of people, hurried feet rushed across the crossway, heads either lifted high with pride or shyly hanging low while some chattered away within the mouths of their cell phones and others beeped away, punching characters into their cell phones. The sky roared, rumbling with the threatening call of an incoming storm and some already had their umbrellas propped against their shoulders, shading over their heads in preparation for the first drop of rain. The crowd moved in their constant hurry to get across the street as the walking man still flashed white, notifying the sea of people to move by in a sudden wave. Within the crowd traveled a group of girls, giggling and laughing quite loudly as one stomped her feet in disappointment, whining about how much money she needed to buy the newest pair of boots featured in a Gal magazine.

"Nyah! Why did I have to get my nails done yesterday? If I waited, I could have gotten these shoes!"  
>"Momoko-chan, you know that the magazine was coming out today. You should have waited!"<br>"Yeah, besides your nails were still in perfect condition."

"Yeah, I know. But I wanted to paint them pink to match the incoming fall colors."  
>"It's still basically summer. You could have outlived the blue for a couple more weeks."<br>"But Liz Lisa never designs any blue tones for fall – blue isn't a fall color!"

People would shift their eyes at the group of four girls and their tanned skin, cheeks flushed with brushed on blush and lips painted nude colored kissed with pink. Their hair was light colors, unnatural to the usual Asian raven and their once bone straight hair cascaded down their chests and backs in an abundance of curls. They batted their eyes towards their cellular phones with their false eyelashes that seemed to extend out for miles with pictures of fashion from the magazine being held like a bible reflecting in their circle lenses, causing their already accented eyes to seem even bigger and more doll-like. Their school uniforms were accessorized to look cute, pink bows replacing ties, their skirts pulled higher than what was accepted by the school and their school bags accessorized with many flowers, jewels, and key chains.

"Ume-chan."

The sky roared once again, the thunder rolling in to warn the people skittering across the streets and crossways that rain was soon to follow the darkened clouds moving slowly across the sky, gathering and cluttering above. More umbrellas were pushed open and shielding the heads of the people as their feet kissed the welcoming concrete of the sidewalk as the walking man blinked again, also giving signs that their chance to cross was quickly expiring.

"_Ume-chan!_"

"Hm," I managed to mutter out, turning my head slightly to the side to look at little Momoko and her blonde curls tied up in two himegyaru style ponytails. "What is it?"

"Seriously, Ume-chan, you space out more than anyone," Momoko whined, blinking up at me with her green circle lenses. She let out a sigh with puffed cheeks, her already pouty lips forming into even more of a pout. Placing herself up on her tip-toes, she reached up to my ear, cupping her hand over her mouth to whisper to me. "Is it your time of the month?"

"Hm? What are you talking about?"

It was then that Momoko pointed to my backside and my cheeks caught fire, highlighting what blush I did have on even more. I covered my face in embarrassment and in panic as my face heated up. Akemi, the fellow girl walking within our group with dyed auburn hair cut in a short style quickly moved over, walking behind me to hide my newfound stain placed in a round, red spot on the back of my skirt. "Ayu-chan, give Ume-chan your sweater."

Ayumi, Akemi's cousin, obeyed Momoko's command, moving in haste to pull her yellow sweater off her shoulders and hand it to me her sweater. "I'll wash it, I promise," I swore to her as I tied the sleeves of the sweater around my waste. I was honestly surprised that Ayumi even gave me her sweater. She was usually so distant from me and more there just for Akemi even though we had pulled her into the Gal style, making her practically one of the group. Still, she needed to lighten up a little, but that was definitely something I would give her major point for in our awkward state of a friendship. "Thank you so much."

"No problem," Ayumi said with a smile. "It happened to me before in junior high."

With a dash, I practically jumped to Ayumi, wrapping my arms around her in thanks. It caught her off guard but we parted with smiles, giggling as Momoko clapped her hands. "Yay, teamwork!"

"Hey, how about some kara-," I stopped just as the words escaped my mouth and looked at a man standing at the edge of the street beside Ayumi. Ayumi just stared in confusion but I just kept my eyes locked on the man. His skin was so pale it was kissed with tints of grey, looking stale. His eyes were tired and his body hung limp, his back hunched as his head hung low. He kept muttering to himself in a hushed tone, so low that I couldn't make out any words he spoke but his lips moved in the same motion over and over again.

"Karaoke?" Momoko questioned, completing my sentence for me. I tried to pull my eyes from the man as he blinked; his eyes were tainted a color of yellow that almost made me want to gag. He looked only a few steps away from the grave. Momoko's eyes followed mine and we both stared at the man. "Creepy."

The other girls' gazes did not take long to follow and we were all shuttering to the sight of him, shivers creeping up the mid of our spines and lifting the hairs on the back of our necks. "Hey guys, let's go. He gives me the creeps."

"Right," Momoko answered to Akemi as she whimpered in fear. It wasn't like we had anything to fear. We were in a public place, surrounded by people but something about the man seemed off. Something just wasn't right and something about him made me not want to stop staring at him. But Momoko eventually pulled my arm, moving me away from the sight of him. As we moved away from him, the sky let out another might roar but this time with a flash of enthusiasm, letting a wave of water rush down over us in a million droplets of rain.

"Oh no, my hair!" Momoko shrieked and pulled her umbrella up like the rest of us. Like the Gals we were, we squealed at the sudden arrival of rain even though we had been warned of it before and quickly went to shield ourselves from the wetness pouring from the clouded sky. The rain beat down on our umbrellas hard, practically streams of water falling from our protection turning into waterfalls.

"Ume-chan, I've got to get home. I don't do lightning!"  
>"Me too. Besides, my package is supposed to arrive today! I've got to hurry and get it!"<br>"I'm going to go with Akemi incase she gets struck by lightning!"

"Right! Karaoke this Friday, okay, girls?" I called out as Momoko dashed towards her home and Akemi and Ayumi huddled together under their umbrellas. Momoko turned, nodding her head.

"Yeah, and maybe this time we can bring dates?"  
>"Sure, Momoko-chan!"<br>"Great! See you tomorrow at school, girls!"  
>"Sayonara!"<p>

We dashed in our opposite directions but as my feet splashed against the puddles forming in the street, I could feel it. I could feel the horrid sensation of my feminine curse ripping away at my abdominals, causing me to slow my pace down to what it believed I should travel at. I hunched over, gripping at my side as the cramp settled in, reminding me that it was my time of the month. With a whimper and a groan, I attempted to gather my strength. Even though I had been handling this torture every single month since my twelfth year of age did not mean every time it came around, I could handle the pain any better than I could before. I needed to get home; home to a warm bath and home to my female pain killers.

Looking up in my solitude as I wandered down the street in the direction of my home, I looked at the fork in the street; one road leading straight to my house while the other went around the other street but curved back to connect to mine again after about a fifteen minute walk. My aches beckoned me to go the short way to my home and directly down my street but my mind told me to travel down my usual path, taking the long way. "Please don't make me do this."

I begged, I begged my period, I begged my bloody curse to ease the pain, but just as I whimpered my plea, the pain ripped at my abdominals. It was like the cramp rippled throughout my lower body and I groaned once again. I never started my period during the day, only during the night so I never had this dilemma but this period came with a rage. Biting down on my lip, I winced as I stepped forward, towards the street leading directly to my house.

"Ow," I muttered with my first step.

The walk didn't start off as painful as my period was as it wrenched at my stomach, causing me to curse it under my breath but as I gained distance up my street, I could see what I feared coming into sight. I held my breath, just for a moment as I squeezed my eyes shut. I begged, pleaded, and prayed that I would be okay. I kept my eyes closed my feet slowly moved up the sidewalk, pulling me forward even though I protested inside. _Please don't say anything. Please don't say anything._

It had been years since I had traveled down that street when I wasn't in my grandmother's car. But then our passing was quick so I never had to suffer through anything. But this would take some time and often, the voices followed. All I wanted was silence. All I wanted was the silence of my bathroom as I curled up in a warm bath. All I wanted was the silence of my home. I should have brought my music, something to keep them out or block them from my mind.

"Please don't say anything," I pleaded. I opened my eyes, peeking slightly through my eyelashes to look at the graveyard ahead in all its glory. It was a charming graveyard, if graveyards could be charming. It was well taken care of, clean, and none of the graves were ever damaged or even buffed in the slightest. When I was little and did walk down the street, the smell of burning incense could be smelt. But now even the slight fragrance of it made me sick. I breathed in slowly, only taking in the scent of rain and a crisp autumn approaching in the season's air. Wet grass and leaves preparing to golden.

The sound of rain pattered against the ground and my umbrella, trickling down to join the other puddles forming on the concrete. I focused on the sounds of the rain, the rumbling thunder growling in above, and even a passing car as it sloshed around a puddle of water on the street. It was all welcoming sounds, a peaceful silence and I could almost feel my chest breathe at ease in relief.

"Don't leave me here!"

Just as the breath of air I breathed in ease washed over my chest, it was sucked back up in fear as my body jolted in fright from the sudden outburst. I could hear the sounds of whimpering, a whining that would extend into a prolonging moan.

"Don't leave me here alone!"

The weeping was loud, almost too much for my ears to bare as I winced, wishing both of my hands were free to cover them. The voice was the sound of an old woman, longing to get out of wherever she was last. She cried loudly, almost hysterically and wept so much she had to choke on a cough to catch her breath. I quickened my pace, closing my eyes again so I wouldn't have to look at the graveyard while I listened to her choke on her sobs.

"I don't want to be alone. Please don't leave me here!"

"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I'm so sorry." My feet hurried into a dash, encouraging me to run to my house with what haste I could summon up. Still, I kept my eyes closed and ran, rushing to my home – away from the graveyard.

"I don't want to die here alone!"

She was shrieking now, piercing my ears with her shaking shrills and I let out a yell, trying to hush her out with my own voice. _Stop it_, I begged inside. _Stop it. Please, just stop it!_

"Umf!" I felt a sudden wave of pressure slap against me, and I had obviously run into something. The force from whatever I ran into pushed me back and onto my backside, straight into a puddle of water. I felt the water splash against my legs and let out a cry in sharp pain as my umbrella flew from my hands as well as my school bag. I winced from the pain of my newfound bruise that was sure to form on the back of my upper thigh and the sharp jab of a cramp. That day was surely not my day.

"Oh, I am so sorry! I didn't see you there! Here, let me help you!" I opened my eyes to the voice that spoke to me. It was a real voice that belonged to a real body and I looked at him, this living, breathing, beautiful boy. It was Jun Hiromori from the graduated class from the year before. He extended his hand out to me, his beautiful fairly tanned hand. I took it with a hesitance, mainly in shock that I had actually seen Jun Hiromori outside of school. There was no denying that he was one of the most attractive boys who once went to my school and all the girls secretly wished him to be the boy they were dating. His hair was dyed a fair auburn, his eyes were the most expressive dark brown and his face was only to be reasoned with angels in comparison.

When I felt the warmth of my hand, I felt the pattering of my heart beating within my chest. He pulled me to my feet and even reached down to gather up my umbrella as I reached for my bag. Jun was the boy that was most likely to become a celebrity, either an idol, model, or actor for some teenage heartthrob drama. His face was so beautiful with his pouty lips and attractive facial features; not to mention his body's build. He was so lean but firmly built with softly chiseled muscles to show why he was the captain of the track team his senior year. He handed me my umbrella just as I gathered up my bag and I was still flushed in embarrassment.

"I am so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going," I apologized to him, bowing my head politely. I watched him smile as he chuckled at me, motioning his hand in a way to tell me not to worry.

"No, no, it's okay. Besides, wasn't I the one who apologized for not seeing you?" He laughed in his charming voice, something that could make a girl swoon if she didn't have a proper hold of herself. His smile was so sweet. He could have easily become a model or movie star if he wanted to. All the girls in the school always took bets with a guess that he could sing too, becoming part of a pop group. "Oh! Ume-chan!"

His saying my name took me back. Did he really just call me by _chan_? Suddenly, I watched him stifle.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I mean- I mean-… I didn't mean to call you so informally," he said in an embarrassed tone.

"No!" I said a little too quickly. "It's okay. You can call me Ume-chan. Besides, we were once classmates at one time." I watched him look at me and smile again, but what really got my attention was how exactly he knew me. I felt my heart flutter as he laughed.

"I probably sound like such a loser calling you that when we've never been formally introduced. I just remember you from around school. You hung around Momoko Yumasho and Akemi Hanajura," he told me. My heart sunk. Oh, he recognized me due to association. "A lot of the senior boys would always talk about you three. We called you the trio. We were always betting on you three to become models or form some sort of Gal pop group."

I almost fell out on the ground if my rippling pain from my cramping wasn't keeping me up. How ironic could assumptions get?

"We thought the same about you! But, well, just not the Gal pop group part," I replied to him.  
>"Oh yeah? I never thought I was thought of as a model!"<br>"Are you kidding? You had most of the girls in school swooning over you just arriving in the courtyard."

He smiled at me. "Oh, and was one of those girls you, by any chance?"

He sure was witty along with being quite the charmer. The rumors were definitely true. My cheeks grew hot as I looked at him and reached up to my now damp curls I had once clipped up perfectly just like I saw Kumiko Funayama had in _Popteen_magazine. "I'm not much for swooning, but I certainly didn't mind the sight."

He laughed at me and I didn't know if I should be flustered and embarrassed or smiling, pretending I was just being funny. I decided on the smile but just as it played across my lips, he gestured towards me. "You graduate this year, correct? It's so strange how we went to the same school for years but never spoke. If you don't mind or think of me as a creeper, could we perhaps exchange numbers? Classmates should stick together."

I was getting hit on! It was sly but it was there. I was practically a step away from getting asked out on a date. It took me a moment to gather myself up but certainly after I did, I took out my phone decorated in its many rhinestone jewels, key chains, and phone charms, blurting out my number and awaiting his. I listened to every beep as he punched in my number and even listened to the clap of his phone as he closed it. I had just exchanged numbers with Jun Hiromori.

"Well, I've got to get to work but I'll definitely text you afterwards if you're still awake," he told me kindly and I was taken back. A boy was promising to text a girl after work instead of playing phone tag where they waited two days to text the girl or something like that since the girl could never seem to text first – it came off as desperate. I nodded my head with a smile and got bashful as he smiled down at me from his towering height. "I'll talk to you later. Stay cute, okay?"

I flushed as he walked away and could practically hear my heartbeat pounding away in my chest as he passed me. Not only did I have Jun Hiromori's number but I also got called cute by him. And from the looks of it, it seemed as if he also lived on my street! What started off as a horrid afternoon turned into quite the adventure! So much that I got a little excited and turned around, shouting out, "Jun-kun!"

I watched him turn, eyes curious as to why I shouted out his name. A flirty smile crept across my lips still glittering with gloss. "I'm going to the karaoke with my friends Friday. Will you come?"

"It's a date!"

As stereotypical of a line that was, it felt as if I was the only one on the face of the earth that had ever heard it. If I had wings, I would have already been soaring in the sky, dancing to the roars of the thunder. Instead, I just jumped up as soon as he turned around, having my own victory moment of congratulations and dashed to my house.

{. * .}

The water was warm, so warm that it made my head slightly dizzy. The bathtub was my sanctuary as I lied within it, allowing my skin to soak up every morsel of comfort it had to bare. My hair was tied up in its clip while my phone was propped up on the side of the tub just in case Jun would text like he promised. The house was silent, just how I liked it and all I could hear was the pattering of the rain against the rooftops of the house and the sloshing sound the warm water of the bathtub would make if I adjusted my knees ever so slightly. I could feel my head growing light but I just kept it relaxed against the bathroom wall. The water just felt so nice against my chilled skin thanks to the weather change. It was perfect. It was quite, it was peaceful, it was so perfect.

A sigh escaped my lips in a wave of relief as a little bath toy frog bobbed up and down on the waves of the water from my occasional adjustments in the bathtub. His name was Kupi. He was my little frog my grandfather had gotten me when I was little. I never really liked frogs so I threw a hissy fit once my grandfather had presented it to me. Naturally, my grandfather acted like he was heavily hurt and pretended to cry until I finally decided to keep it. We both named him Kupi.

I watched as Kupi bobbed up and down, seeing just a little bit of the crimson color drifting around the tub. It was so disgusting. I could never understand the meaning of a period. They were embarrassing, uncomfortable, and just a nuisance, but they always came back to torment the female gender every month.

"Kupi, don't let me fall asleep, okay?" I spoke, taking the little frog's bobbing up and down on the water as him nodding his head. I smirked at him lazily. "… I'm just going to close my eyes for a bit. Tell me if Jun texts. Don't let me drown."

My eyes grew heavy, and I could feel a doze coming to. And the struggle to keep myself awake just wasn't working anymore as my body begged for a nap from the exhaustion of my period's fatigue. The water of the tub grew dim and cloudy, leaving only just the slight view of blood from my curse disappearing into the water as my last vision before I wandered into a world of sleep.

Kupi just continued to float, "nodding" his head up and down.

{. * .}

"Why'd you leave me all alone? Why weren't you with me? You and I were supposed to be together… forever."

A fleeting dream crept into my mind as I sunk into the bathtub, water surrounding me as my mind warped into a dark abyss with a scene appearing out of the darkness. The silhouette of a red kimono flashed before the still darkness, a robe flowing about as the sound of a chiming noise crept its way into the silence. The girl held within the robes of the kimono was so fair, so pale – almost deathly. It was odd how her fabric of her kimono flowed. It was nothing like winds caressing the material but more of a calm flow, slow and gentle.

Her face was white, like snow against beneath a bed of roses from the rich color of her kimono. She was so pale that I couldn't even make out the features of her face. She was so pale and as I watched her, trying to see her face, I wondered. Was she falling?

"Hey," I called out weakly but the girl continued to distance herself in a steady pace. Wait, was she _sinking_?

She was sinking!

"Hey!" I reached out, trying to grasp onto her kimono's sleeve to rescue this girl as she grew even whiter and sunk even further, but my fingertips barely brushed the fabric before it fluttered away and out of my longing reach. My heart raced in my panic, thundering away inside my chest as I choked out in terror. "No, don't die!"

_Slap!_

Suddenly, fragile fingers were wrapped around my wrist with the same pale skin texture as the girl. Her hand was cold, freezing. It sent a shiver across my skin and made me choke even more, unable to find the strength to fill my lungs with air. The fragile hand gripped harder around my wrist, tightening to where it made me whimper. I wanted to pull away but as I even thought to yank my wrist away, the grip tightened even more to send a shock of pain shooting up my arm with a fierce passion.

Stop it, I wanted to shout, to scream, but as I brought my face up to force a scream, a mouth met mine. The cold, wet touch of a pair of gentle lips brushed against mine, startling me deeper into my stage of shock. My eyes were frozen in a wide gaze of surprise as the pair of lips pressed against mine in a forced kiss. I parted my lips in protest, preparing to yell out, but as I went to turn my head away, the girl's hands slapped against the sides of my face to hold me still.

"N-," I began but my mouth began to be filled with a cold liquid. It was freezing. It was cold. It was so cold that it felt like harsh daggers were trying to rush down my throat and stab at my chest. I coughed, trying to force out the water only to choke on it even more.

I was choking. No, I was drowning!

I felt as if I was holding on to my last moments as my eyes were frozen still, wide and startled. I could feel my head tilting back, almost welcoming death into me as I began to grow cold. My eyes glazed over with the feeling of gathering tears but I could not blink for I was frozen and all I could hear was the calling of voices, voices joined in a sort of chanting. The clatter of drums and chimes could be heard, almost as if it was a sort of prayer I could not understand. Was this is song of death? Was I do die?

My locked gaze stared through my cloudy tears as one broke from the brims of my eyes, slipping down my cheek as the site of what seemed to be the flickering flames of candles in a distance, all placed close together in abundance while the chanting song continued.

"You said you would never leave me."

{. * .}

It was with a heave and a cough that I shot up, coughing and wheezing to get all of the water trapped in my throat out of my body. I could practically taste it, the air, the sweet air. When the frightfully cold water was out, I heaved a sigh and inhaled as much air as I possibly could hold. My body slouched over and I inhaled even more, gripping the ground, and gathering up all the dirt and grass deep into my nails.

Wait… Grass. Dirt. How could this be?

I pried open my eyes, my lashes separating in a flutter. I was on the ground, the firm, grassy, dirty ground. Turning my hands, I looked at the earth I had gathered in my grasps. Why was I outside? I had never sleep walked before. Wait, was I naked and outside?

A frantic panic rose in my throat and I reached to my body, looking down. To my surprise, I wasn't naked; in fact, I was dressed – but not in my usual attire. I was dressed in richly colored, elegantly designed, and silky fabricated robes – a crimson kimono laced and trimmed in golden threads, decorating the robs in shapes of flowers. The obi wrapped around my stomach was even golden with red trimmings on what seemed to be clouds and moons. Even my under robes were gold and made of a very silky, shiny white. It was so heavy to where I could barely even bring myself to move.

My very own head was even heavy. Reaching up, my hands dashed all around to feel my hair covered in ornaments. Some of my hair was tied up in a loose tie to where to side ties fell out in waterfalls of hair with ornaments tucked into the ties. All were golden and barring rubies, dangling moons and red flowers. My hair was suddenly so soft, so silky to the touch as my hands flowed down my hair. It was then that I took notice to the fact that it clearly wasn't my hair. It was extremely long, – practically to my hips – silky soft, and what seemed to be a violet color.

What was going on?

My hands weren't even my own. They were pale, almost deathly white.

"W-what's happening?" I spoke in a scared tone, taking in my surroundings of a field of blood red flowers scattered all around with what seemed to be a lake or some sort of large pond nearby. I fumbled with my feet, unable to stand from the heaviness of my attire and the chunkiness of my shoes. So I crawled. I crawled on the dirty, gritty earth to the water reflecting the silver moonlight hanging in the sky. Was my face even my own?

As I gazed at my reflection upon finally reaching the water, my golden eyes gazed back. My face was still the same but everything else was different as violet colored bangs hovered over my eyes.

I had to have been dreaming.

"Where- where am I?"

_To Be Continued..._


End file.
